Variable rate particulate dispenser



6, 1969 o. DORFMAN VARIABLE RATE PARTICULATE DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 10, 1966 INVENTOR. DANIEL DoRFMAN vATTORIVEYfi' 8- 6, 1969 D. DORFMAN VARIABLE RATE PARTICULATE DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 10, 1966 80 15 ENTOR DANIEL o'onrmm 84- 5 BY I I ATT RNEYS United States Patent 3,463,360 VARIABLE RATE PARTICULATE DISPENSER Daniel Dorfman, Woodbury, 'N.Y., assignor to Lawn-A- Mat Chemical and Equipment Corporation, Mineola, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 10, 1966, Ser. No. 571,569 Int. Cl. G01f 11/24 US. Cl. 222-139 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dispenser of particulate material which includes a plurality of passages between outlet means and a storage hopper so that material moves from the hopper through at least one of the passages to the outlet means where the rate of the dispensed material is controlled. It is to be understood that this abstract shall in no way constitute a limitation upon the scope of the invention and that the Letters Patent shall be limited solely by the granted claims.

This invention relates generally to a dispenser for dispensing particulate material and, more particularly, pertains to a particulate material dispenser which is adapted to dispense the material at one of a plurality of different preselected rates in accordance with the requirements of the user.

Presently, it is common practice to utilize some type of dispensing mechanism to dispense particulate material such as seed and the like after the ground has been treated to receive the same. Usually these dispensers are provided with metering means for dispensing the material at a fixed rate thereby to insure an even distribution of the particles. However, since the dispensing rate of these devices is fixed, the same normalized amount of particulate material is always dispensed regardless of the need or the requirements of the operator. Consequently, in the majority of cases, an improper and unsatisfactory amount of material is dispensed.

Accordingly, the desideratum of the present invention is to provide a particulate dispenser having means for dispensing material at a selected one of a plurality of different rates in accordance with the requirements of the user.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a dispenser for dispensing particulate matter at one of a plurality of different rates, which is simple in construction, easy to use and economical to manufacture.

Another object and feature of the present invention resides in the novel details of construction which provide a particulate dispenser of the type described which simultaneously can dispense at least two types of materials at different variable rates.

In furtherance of the above objects, the dispenser of the present invention includes a hopper for storing the particulate material which is to be dispensed. An outlet is defined in a housing at the bottom of the hopper to provide an exit for the material. A plurality of transversely spaced partitions extend inwardly from the outlet to define separate passages. The passages are positioned so that the particulate material must traverse at least one of these passages to reach the outlet. Respective rate control means are received in each one of the passages for controlling the rate of flow of the material therethrough. Since the rate control means are individual to each passage, each rate control means may be designed to produce a different flow rate. Additionally, a separate door is positioned in each passage for opening and closing the respective passages to control the movement of the particulate material through the passages. That is,

"ice

when a door is closed the associated passage is blocked and the particulate matter cannot flow 'therethrough. However, when a door is open, the particulate matter or material is free to traverse the associated passage and exit from the hopper through the outlet; the rate of flow of the particulate material being determined by the rate control means in the open passage.

In operation, one or a plurality of the doors may be opened until the desired rate of feed of the particulate material is obtained. If, at some later time, a different rate of flow or feed is desired, then some other passages may be closed by their associated doors and other doors opened until the new desired flow is obtained. Additionally, the hopper may be divided into a. number of different sections; each section having a plurality of passages therein to obtain a desired flow rate of material from any particular one of the sections. Thus, the dispenser of the present invention may dispense two or more different materials at different rates.

A feature of the present invention is to provide a particulate dispenser having different passages, each such passage having its own rate control means to determine selectively the dispensing rate of the dispenser.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a particulate dispenser constructed according to the present invention, with parts broken away to illustrate the rate control means;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a portion of FIG. 1, taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1, with parts broken away and to an enlarged scale; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a particulate dispenser constructed in accordance with the present invention, taken along line 33 of FIG. 2.

The dispenser of the present invention is designated generally by the numeral 10 in FIG. 1 and includes a hopper, designated generally by the numeral 12, for storing particulate material therein and a rate control device, designated generally by the numeral 14, for controlling the rate at which the material stored in the hopper 12 is dispensed. The hopper 12 includes a front wall 16, a rear wall 18, and opposed side walls 20 and 22. The lower portion of the side walls 20 and 22 taper downwardly and inwardly toward each other and the lower potrion of the rear wall 18 is inclined downwardly and inwardly toward the front wall 16 to define a substantially rectangular bottom opening 24 (FIG. 3) which is substantilaly smaller in area than the top opening of the hopper 12. The sloping portions of the walls 18, 20 and 22 direct material stored in the hopper to the opening 24.

A cover 26 is hingedly connected to the rear wall 18 by longitudinally spaced hinges 28 and is adapted to close the top opening of the hopper 12. The cover 26 is provided with a depending continuous peripheral flange 30 which extends about the front and side edges of the top wall of the cover 26 and is adapted to be in juxtaposition with the side walls 20 and 22 and the front wall 16 of the hopper 12 to prevent the material stored within the hopper from escaping through the top opening of the hopper. A handle 32 is provided on the front portion of the peripheral flange 30 to facilitate opening and closing the cover 26.

An approximately centrally located partition 34 extends between the front wall 16 and the rear wall 18 of the hopper 12, from the top to the bottom thereof, and divides the hopper into two compartments respectively designated 36 and 38. Thus, the compartments 36 and 38 may be used to store different types of materials and to prevent their commingling. A bracket 23 (FIG. 2) is cona nected to the side wall 22 of the hopper 12. The bracket 23 is adapted to be connected to a transportation mechanism to maintain the device in a proper position during movement of the same over the area that is to be covered with the material, Accordingly, more than one such bracket may be utilized to further steady the device 10.

The rate control device 14 includes a housing 40 which depends from the hopper 12. The housing 40 includes side walls 42 and 44 which extend perpendicularly downwardly from the respective side walls and 22 of the hopper 12 and may be integral therewith. The bottom edges of the side walls 26, 22 are rounded, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. A curved wall section 46 extends between the side walls 42 and 44 of the housing and is connected thereto. The wall 46 extends about a portion of the bottom edge of the walls 42 and 44 and terminates at approximately the straight edge portion of the rear edge of the side walls.

Rear wall 48 (FIG. 3) of the housing 40 is connected to a longitudinally extending strip 50 by a hinge 52. The strip 50, in turn, is affixed to the rear wall 18 of the hopper 12 in any conventional manner, as by riveting the strip thereto. The bottom edge of the wall 48 and the top edge of the wall 46 are provided with complementary formed grooves to define a rabbet joint 54, The hinge 52 includes a spring (not shown) which biases the wall 48 inwardly to engage the wall 46 at the joint 54. However, the wall 48 may be pivoted about the hinge connection 52 in a counterclockwise direction, as taken in FIG. 3, to open the housing 40 for purposes which will become apparent hereinbelow. A knob 56 is provided on the rear surface of the wall 48 to facilitate opening the housing.

The housing 40 also includes an inverted substantially U-shaped front member 58 having a bight portion 60 and depending legs 62 and 64. As shown in FIG. 3, the leg 62 is connected to the front wall 16 of the hopper 12 with the bottom edge of the leg 62 flush with the bottom edge of the wall 16. The leg 64 is spaced forwardly of the front wall 16 by the bight portion 60 of the member 58. The leg 64 is longer than the leg 62 and terminates in spaced relation to the wall 46 to define an outlet 66 through which the material stored in the hopper 12 is adapted to pass.

A drive shaft 68 extends between and beyond the side walls 42 and 44 of the housing 40 and is rotatably supported by the said side walls. Fixedly mounted on the shaft 68, between the side walls 42 and 44 of the housing '40, are a plurality of longitudinally spaced gears In the embodiment shown, three such gears, respectively designated 70, 72 and 74 are positioned to the left of the partition 34 as taken in FIG. 1 and three gears, respectively designated 76, 78 and 80, are positioned to the right of the partition 34, as taken in FIG. 2. Accordingly, the gears 70, 72 and 74 are associated with the compartment 38.

The gears 70, 74, 76 and 80 are identical in construction and are provided with four teeth which are separated from each other by substantially hemispherical depressions 82 (FIG. 3). Similarly, the gears 72 and 78 are identical in construction and are provided with eight teeth; the adjacent teeth; also being separated by hemispherical depressions 82. The gears 80 are offset with respect to the wall 46 so that the peripheral edge of the teeth on each of the gears almost touches the wall 46 at one point in the rotation of the gear. To put this another way, the gears 70-80 are so positioned with respect to the Wall 46 that the distance between the teeth of the gear and the wall 46 at one point in the rotation of any one of the gears is smaller than the dimension of the material which is to be dispensed. Consequently, only the material which is received in the depressions 82 will be dispensed through the outlet 66, as described in detail hereinbelow. Any foreign matter, such as a wire or the like which may be caught between one of the gears 70-80 and the wall 46 would normally jam the rate control device. Such obstructions easily may be removed simply by pivoting the wall 48 about the hinge 52 to allow the operator access to the interior of the housing 40 and removing the obstruction through this open area.

A plurality of partitions 84, which are coextensive with the side walls 42 and 44 of the housing 40, are individually positioned between each of the gears 7080 to define respective passages 86, 88, 90, 92, 94 and 96 which extend between the bottom opening of the hopper 12 and the outlet 66. The passages 86, 88 and 90 communicate with the compartment 36 and the passages 92, 94 and 96 communicate with the compartment 38. Accordingly, the material which is stored in the compartment 36 must pass through at least one of the passages 86, 88 or 90 before it is dispensed through the outlet 66. Likewise, any material which is stored in the compartment 38 must pass through at least one of the passages 92, 94 or 96 to be dispensed through the outlet 66.

A gear 98 is fixedly received on one end of the shaft 68 and is connected to the output shaft of a motor (not shown) by a sprocket chain 100. The motor is adapted to drive the shaft 68 in the direction indicated by arrowhead 102 in FIG. 1 thereby to rotate the respective gears 70-80.

Positioned in each of the passages 8696 below the bottom opening 24- in the hopper 12 is a respective door or valve mechanism, designated generally by the numeral 104, which is movable between a passage open and a passage closed position to control the flow through the passage of particular material which is stored in the hopper. Each door mechanism 104 includes a pair of spaced plates which define a slot 108 therebetween and which extend between adjacent partitions 84 and between the end partitions 84 and the end walls 42 and 44 in the respective passages 86 and 96. The plates 106 are connected to the partitions and the respective end walls by laterally extending flanges 110 in any conventional manner, as by welding.

Since the construction of the door or valve mechanism 104 is identical in each of the passages 8696, only the door construction in passage 96 will be described in detail. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 3, the plates 106 are inclined downwardly and rearwardly from the front edge of the opening 24 and terminate in spaced relation to the rear wall 48 of the housing 40 to define an opening in the passage 96. Slidably received in the slot 108 is a door 112 which extends between the partition 84 and the side wall 44 of the housing 40 and which is adapted to abut the rear wall 48 to close the opening between the rear wall 48 and the plates 106 as shown by the solid line position of the door in FIG. 3. However, the door 112 is also adapted to be moved to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 3 thereby to open the area between the plates 106 and the rear wall 48.

Provided at the front edge of the door 112 is a depending flange 114. A cable 116 is received through a centrally located aperture 118 in the flange 114. T ransversely extending members 120 are fixedly received on the cable 116 and abut the respective front and rear surfaces of the flange 114. Respective apertures 122 are provided in the leg 64 of the member 58 and slidably receive the cables 116 therethrough. The cables 116 may terminate in a knob on the faceplate or dashboard of the machine or apparatus on which the dispenser 10 is to be utilized.

Connected to the housing 40 and positioned below the outlet 66 is a chute 124. The chute 124 directs the material which is dispensed from the outlet 66 to a spinner plate 126. The spinner plate 126 is provided with upstanding radially extending ribs 128 which originate from a central hub 130. Fixedly received in the hub 130 is a shaft 132 which is connected to a drive motor (not shown) and which rotates the spinner plate 126 at a preselected angular velocity.

In the description of the operation of the dispenser which follows hereinbelow, it will be assumed that the dispenser is utilized to distribute seed and fertilizer simultaneously. However, it is to be understood that this illustration is by way of example only and it is not to be interpreted as a limitation of the present invention since the dispenser 10 may be utilized to dispense any type of particulate material. That is, the versitility of the dispenser of the present invention for dispensing any type of particulate matter is enhanced, by the fact that the dispensing rate easily may be varied. Additionally, it is assumed that the dispenser 10 of the present invention is mounted on a moving vehicle of the type disclosed in my copending application entitled Soil Treating Apparatus, Ser. No. 558,307, filed on June 17, 1966.

In operation, the compartments 36 and 38 are respectively filled with seed and fertilizer in accordance with the desires and requirements of the gardener. The cover 26 is then closed to prevent any material from escaping through the top opening of the hopper 12 due to vibrations caused by the tractor or by operating the device over uneven terrain. The motors controlling the movement of the sprocket chain 100 and the shaft 132 are energized so that the shaft 68 and, therefore, the gears 70-80 and the spinner plate 126 rotate.

The materials in the compartments 36 and 38 may then be dispensed through the outlet 66 at a preselected rate by operating the door or valve mechanisms associated with one or more of the passages 86-90 and the door mechanisms 10'4, associated with one or more of the passages 92-96. For example, when the cable 116 associated with the door 112 located in the passage 96 is operated to move the door to the passage open position, an opening is provided in the passage between the rear edge of the plates 106 and the rear wall 48 of the housing 40. Thus, the material in the compartment 38 of the hopper 12 flows through the bottom opening 24 of the hopper and through the aforementioned opening and onto the gear 80'.

As the gear 80 is rotated by the shaft 68, the particulate material or fertilizer is received in the depressions 82 on the gear 80. As the gear 80 rotates, the seed is trapped between the wall of the gear 80 defining the depressions 82 and the inner surface of the wall 46. Thus, the seed is carried in the depressions 82 to the outlet 66 whereupon the seed falls through the outlet 66 under the influence of gravitational forces and onto the chute 124. The chute 124 directs the seed to the spinner plate which then spews the seed out in a radial direction due to centrifugal forces.

It is to be noted that the doors 112 in the passages 92 and 94 are closed at this point to prevent the material in the compartment 38 from traversing these passages. Accordingly, the seed can only traverse the passage 96 to reach the outlet 66.

Additionally, when the cable 116 associated with the door 112 in the passage 88 is pulled outwardly the door 112 is moved to the passage open position. Hence the seed in the compartment 36 passes through the bottom opening 24 in the hopper 12, and through the opened passage 88 defined by the rear edge of the plates 106 and the rear wall 48 of the housing 40 and onto the gear 72. As noted hereinabove, the gear 72 contains twice as many teeth or depressions 82 as the gear 80. Accordingly, since the gears 72 and 80 are rotating at the same speed by means of the drive shaft 68, the gear 72 will cause twice as much material to be dispensed per unit time as the gear 80. It is to be noted that as the seed and fertilizer fall down the chute 124 and onto the spinner plate 126 they are commingled and they are dispensed as a mixture.

If diiferent rates of flow of material in the compartments 36 and 38 are desired, then different ones of the doors 112 closing the passages 86, 90, 92- and 94 may be selectively operated to the passage open position in the manner noted above to allow the particulate to pass through these passages. Moreover, the doors associated with the passages 86 and 94 may be operated selectively to the closed position by pushing rearwardly on the cable 116 thereby to prevent the particulate material from traversing these passages. As the particulate matter in the various compartments traverse one or more of the different passages communicating the particulate compartment, different rates of flow of the material may be obtained.

Accordingly, a dispensing mechanism has been provided for dispensing particulate material which includes means for producing one out of a plurality of rates of flow of the material. Additionally, the dispensing mechanism of the present invention may 'be utilized to dispense simultaneously different types of materials at different rates.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein, it will be obvious that numerous omissions, changes and additions may be made in such embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, more or less than three gears per compartment may be utilized for controlling and varying the rate of flow of material from the compartments. Additionally, the number of teeth in each gear may be varied in accordance with the requirements of the operator.

What is claimed is:

1. In a dispenser for dispensing a particulate material,-

a hopper for storing a particulate material therein,

-a housing depending from said hopper,

outlet means in said housing for dispensing the particulate material stored in said hopper therethrough,

a plurality of spaced partitions in said housing extending inwardly from said outlet means to define a plurality of passages in communication between said outlet means and said hopper, whereby a particulate material stored in said hopper traverses at least a selected one or more of said plurality of passages to reach said outlet means,

respective control means in each of said plurality of passages for variably controlling the rate of flow of a particulate material simultaneously through each of the respective passages,

and selectively operable valve means in each of said plurality of passages movable between a passage open position and a passage closed position to provide for and prevent the flow of a particulate material through an associated passage,

each of said control means includes a gear rotatably mounted in an associated passage,

each of said gears having a plurality of different circumferentially spaced teeth thereon,

whereby a particulate material is adapted to be received between said teeth of each of said gears and is carried by each said gear at a different rate of flow to said outlet means and dispensed therefrom by gravitational forces,

and means for rotating said gears simultaneously at a preselected speed to obtain a predetermined rate of flow of a particulate material,

in which said housing includes a rear wall,

hinge means for hingedly connecting said rear wall with said hopper,

whereby said rear wall may be pivoted about said hinge means to provide access to said gears.

2. In the dispenser according to claim 1, wherein said housing is provided with a curved bottom wall,

each of said gears being positioned adjacent to said bottom wall and in close proximity thereto,

whereby a particulate material received between the teeth of said gear are maintained between said teeth by said bottom wall.

3. In the dispenser of claim 1, in which each of said selectively operable valve means comprises a door slid- 7 8 ably mounted in an associated passage between said hop- 889,329 6/ 1908 Pallas 222-274 per and a resepective gear, 915,560 3/1909 Culbertson 222561 X said doors being movable between a passage open posi- 943,660 12/ 1909 Dunham 222-139 tion to provide for the flow of a material from said 980,834 1/ 1911 Raber et a1 222139 hopper to the associated gear and a passage closed 5 2,224,797 12/ 1940 Pinder 222-139 X position to prevent the flow of a material through the associated passage, FOREIGN PATENTS and operating means connected to each of said doors 1,424,230 11/ 1965 France.

for operating said doors between said passage open 7 and passage closed positions from a remote point. 10 RO REEVES, Pfimafy EXaIlliIwf F. R. HANDREN, Assistant Examiner References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS US. Cl. X.R.

672,308 4/1901 Bristow 222-139 1 222-270, 273, 288, 482 

